Morality is not determined by the church you attend nor the faith you embrace. It is determined by the quality of your character and the positive impact you have on those you meet along your journey

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Democratic Primary Open Thread. Update!

So today there are two primaries for Democrats to use to pretend that the nomination is still in contention.

One is in Kentucky and their polls close in about an hour and half from when this gets posted.

The second is in Oregon and that sucker is still five hours and a half away.

There is by the way every possibility that Sanders will win both of these tonight, but of course it is unlikely that it will be a large enough win to gain him more than about half the delegates. And that is simply not going to help.

By the way there is the letter that Bernie Sanders wrote in response to what happened in Nevada this weekend.

“It is imperative that the Democratic leadership, both nationally and in the states, understand that the political world is changing and that millions of Americans are outraged at establishment politics and establishment economics. The people of this country want a government which represents all of us, not just the 1 percent, super PACs and wealthy campaign contributors.

“The Democratic Party has a choice. It can open its doors and welcome into the party people who are prepared to fight for real economic and social change – people who are willing to take on Wall Street, corporate greed and a fossil fuel industry which is destroying this planet. Or the party can choose to maintain its status quo structure, remain dependent on big-money campaign contributions and be a party with limited participation and limited energy.

“Within the last few days there have been a number of criticisms made against my campaign organization. Party leaders in Nevada, for example, claim that the Sanders campaign has a ‘penchant for violence.’ That is nonsense. Our campaign has held giant rallies all across this country, including in high-crime areas, and there have been zero reports of violence. Our campaign of course believes in non-violent change and it goes without saying that I condemn any and all forms of violence, including the personal harassment of individuals. But, when we speak of violence, I should add here that months ago, during the Nevada campaign, shots were fired into my campaign office in Nevada and apartment housing complex my campaign staff lived in was broken into and ransacked.

“If the Democratic Party is to be successful in November, it is imperative that all state parties treat our campaign supporters with fairness and the respect that they have earned. I am happy to say that has been the case at state conventions in Maine, Alaska, Colorado and Hawaii where good discussions were held and democratic decisions were reached. Unfortunately, that was not the case at the Nevada convention. At that convention the Democratic leadership used its power to prevent a fair and transparent process from taking place. Among other things:

The chair of the convention announced that the convention rules passed on voice vote, when the vote was a clear no-vote. At the very least, the Chair should have allowed for a headcount.

The chair allowed its Credentials Committee to en mass rule that 64 delegates were ineligible without offering an opportunity for 58 of them to be heard. That decision enabled the Clinton campaign to end up with a 30-vote majority.

The chair refused to acknowledge any motions made from the floor or allow votes on them.
The chair refused to accept any petitions for amendments to the rules that were properly submitted.

“These are on top of failures at the precinct and county conventions including trying to depose and then threaten with arrest the Clark County convention credentials chair because she was operating too fairly.”

So as you can see there was not an explicit call for non-violence though there was plenty of blame for any aggression aimed at the Democrats.

Actually it kind of reads like a list of demands by a hostage taker.

Update: Here are some of the threats sent to Nevada Democratic party chair Roberta Lange after the convention.

Nothing that was done, or could have been done, at the convention excuses this.

Update: Hillary Clinton wins!

Holy crap that took forever. Let's hope that Oregon is not quite such a nail biter.

Update 2: And now Sanders wins Oregon.

It looks like in this case the delegates are pretty evenly split as well.

222 comments:

"Our campaign has held giant rallies all across this country, including in high-crime areas, and there have been zero reports of violence. Our campaign of course believes in non-violent change and it goes without saying that I condemn any and all forms of violence, including the personal harassment of individuals."

HRC supporters are causing this violence to make Bernie look bad. It's a typical ploy by the dirty politics Clinton plays by.

"The chair of the convention announced that the convention rules passed on voice vote, when the vote was a clear no-vote. At the very least, the Chair should have allowed for a headcount."

Clearly a reasonable statement. How Democratic is a voice vote when the chair is clearly a Clinton partisan?

Then you claim these reasonable statements are akin to hostage demands. FUCK YOU and your buddies who are causing this violence.

I've been trying to figure out why I feel so reactive and triggered when reading some of the partisan posts here and on Facebook. Today, I finally realized that it is the vehemence and implied (and sometimes outright stated) threats of violence. As a survivor of domestic violence, perhaps I should have seen it sooner, but it only became clear in the past couple of days. Your quote speaks volumes. So akin to "I wouldn't have hit you if you hadn't made me. It's all your fault." I started out as a strong Bernie supporter but became more and more uncomfortable with his sense of entitlement and the refusal to speak against the violence of his campaign. I survived one violent relationship. I'll not enter willingly into another.

I found that the solution to a violent relationship was to hit back and hit them with something big, and heavy.

My boyfriend hit me in 1986. I dropped a bookcase on his head, knocked him out and then hit him with a baseball bat to make sure he was really out.

I then left the country for a few weeks not knowing if he was alive or dead.

He did survive, but he at least never pressed charges because he knew he deserved it.

However I did hear that he died of a brain aneurism 3 months ago and I had to wonder if those blows to his head made a problem that only presented 40 years later...no guilt though as he had a few more physically abusive relationships after ours so I wish I actually would have did him in when I had the chance :-)

I totally agree that Trumps& teathugs behind this but Bernie's statement!? "Understand that the political world is changing and that millions of Americans are outraged at establishment politics and establishment economics. The people of this country want a government which represents all of us, not just the 1 percent, super PACs and wealthy campaign contributors. "He totally condones the violence poopoo "its just anger bears at the sytem, bla, bla, bla"! Shame on him! He has been a Senator for HOW long and doesn't know the rules by now?I am sick of him and his "Bros" IDK if they are Trumpster or wtf they are.Play by the rules and get off your ass and volunteer an change the system instead of vile threats and violence, and whining like stick pigs, Whaaaaaa, whaaaaa I'm taking my toys home. Grow the fuck up as the troll would say.Oh and Bernie has SuperPac now, So WTF?

Wow. I actually donated $5 to Bernie Sanders very early on, and felt good about it. My brother and my sister both said he was 'the real deal.' But as time went on I began to think he was kind of a dick, and now I think he's a complete asshole, and a dangerous one. The parallels with Trump are astonishing. My brother and sister are still with him; my brother will vote for Hillary if she wins, but my sister thinks she must save her conscience by not voting for her. Yeah, all those Ralph Nader voters who got us Bush have real clear consciences. The consequences of their 'conscientious' votes have been devastating, but they're good with it.

What is it with people who think that others shouldn't be able to vote for their chosen candidate? This "Nader cost Gore the election" is the biggest line of bullshit ever. Gore didn't win enough votes period. He was lackluster much like Hillary.

I voted Nader, and I am a republican leaning independent. Guess that kind of blows your theory.

And I'm a Democrat leaning independent, recovering Republican. Reagan cured it for me and then came the Bushes.

No one "cost" anyone an election, absolutely correct. They vote for who THEY think is best. It's called "democracy," what little we have left of it. Somehow I believe this election is going to show us exactly how much that is. Not optimistic.

Wrong, 2:01 and 2:50. There was quite a bit of, don't vote for the lesser of two evils, and vote your conscience pressuring by Naderites. I listened to them back when. Reconnected with one of them via facebook recently. OF COURSE she's a Sanders supporter with the same inrealistic, my hands are cleaner than yours attitude, today. Let's just say teh facebook relationship did not end well. She was a REAL asshole, now and in retrospect, was then too.

Sure, vote for whomever you want, make your statement, be idealistic and revolutionary. Then live with the results when an imbecile or a tyrant gets elected because you couldn't hold your nose and vote for someone other than your first choice for the good of the country. That's democracy, it's your right. Enjoy.

Save your money. If we all stop donating to any of these clowns then a major part of the problem will be solved.

I am personally opposed to giving any money to candidates. If we all stand strong we may someday end up with a federally funded campaign season that is short, puts every candidate on an equal financial playing field and has much more strict rules than are in place now.

2:50 here and you're darned straight! I have never contributed one red cent to any of them, and will not until I see that they are actually working on behalf of our citizenry WITH RESULTS. $$ down the toilet otherwise.

Anonymous6:56 PM, Vote for whomever you want. Then be an adult and own up to the consequences of your vote. People like you need to take responsibility for the 2008 election of GWB and the consequences of his presidency. Period. And stop fuckin whining.

Christ, 2:58, try not to be such a towering ass. No one is threatening your franchise. You do not, however, possess a right not to be criticized or to avoid hearing others point out the consequences of your choices. Stop sniveling and own your actions like a grownup.

2:54, So I am the "frigging idiot", but Carroll gets a pass for refusing to vote for Bernie, if he were to become the nominee? Explain (from you fucking genius slant) how one is different than the other?

History Lesson From an Older Democrat: Back in the day, I voted for the Democrat who was the candidate for president even though there were times he was not my first (not even second or third) choice. The reason: because a democratic president was always the better choice.

This is something the little ones who support Bernie need to learn. Support the hell out of your chosen candidate during Primary Season and then, pull up your socks and vote for the Democratic nominee. In the meantime, it might be a good idea to read up on election history for the past fifty years and you might learn something.

Even when it's just his followers being asses, he looks like the ass. I'm all for people power and it's not like I have forgotten what it was like to be a young adult swept up by the ideals of someone like Bernie who reflected some of my own beliefs. But I also remember how assholian many people in their twenties were back in college and after. They're acting now like they are owed. And they don't even have to fill out the right paperwork to vote and don't have to show up in the necessary numbers (according to the new reports) and yet they are still owed.

Sorry, Gryphen, but why would he castigate his own supporters when no one is sure they are the perpetrators. Not even saying Hillary supporters are. Could be Trumpsters. So, no, you don't call any group out by name until you know.

"Super delegates can vote for whichever candidate they please at the DNC. Regular delegates are committed to proportionally represent Alaska Democrats’ choice for president. In July, a total of 20 delegates from Alaska will attend the DNC in Philadelphia. Sixteen of them are regular delegates, and four are super delegates. Of the 16 regular delegates, 13 are committed to Bernie Sanders; the remaining three are pledged to Hillary Clinton."http://www.ktva.com/on-third-day-of-convention-alaska-democrats-call-for-end-to-super-delegates-989/

I don't know about any videos, but I did see a photo of a Sanders supporter with a chair held up above his head in the middle of an angry group. The story I read was that, thankfully, others around him talked him out of any further action. I don't know if any chairs were actually thrown, but that guy was clearly out of control.

I was just watching Hardball and it was said that Harry Reid told Bernie to go address what had happened on Saturday. Bernie then made his comment about no violence and so on but, Eugene Robinson said, that was followed by a big BUT.

I'll back off a little and say that I don't know if she is misinformed. I don't know if she's lying. I do know there are other delegates who were at the convention (who also know EXACTLY what the rules are) who tell a different story.

6:52, get back to us when you and your family get death threats from Clinton supporters. Let us know when your business has to close down due to safety concerns, you have to change your personal phone number, you have to duck flying chairs and you have to alert your grandchild's school that the kid has been threatened. What a fool you are to compare what goes on at this blog to the terrorism Team Bernie committed this weekend.

That is very obvious that the Republican party is holding their noses and coming together for Trump, even if they don't all agree with him.

I applaud them for getting Trump elected because his reign as POTUS will remind all of us how far south things can go and then after 4 years of Trump this country will become much more progressive, as a whole.

I fear our country is so divided that it is going to take a big time wake up call, i.e.. 4 years of Trump, to make our citizenry realize how to protect the America we all enjoy

Hillary Clinton and her allies have launched the early stages of an all-out assault on Donald Trump, but the Democratic front-runner can’t seem to shake a dogged Bernie Sanders, who could rack up at least one more win on Tuesday night.

The Vermont senator has a good shot at claiming victory in Oregon, whose overwhelmingly white and liberal demographics bode well for Sanders. And it’s not beyond reason to think that he could pull off an upset in Kentucky, which would be an especially bruising loss for Clinton.

Even a mixed result would be another headache for Clinton, especially with Sanders showing no signs of backing down or laying off the attacks that Trump has already said will be a playbook for his own battle against Clinton.

On Tuesday, the senator again questioned the former secretary of state’s “judgment,” this time for floating her husband's name as a top economic adviser.

But new audio obtained by CNN shows a senior Sanders aide -- on the eve of the Nevada convention -- encouraging the senator's supporters try to "take over" the convention, change party rules and continue the "revolution" that Sanders has long campaigned on.

"You should not leave," Joan Kato, the national delegates director, told Sanders supporters in a meeting last week at the Rumor Boutique Hotel. "I'm going to repeat that, unless you are told by someone from the campaign ... that you can leave, you should not leave."

The polls have officially closed in the state of Kentucky, and the race is too early to call, according to NBC News. With only a small percentage of the vote counted, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton trails Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders by just one point.

The newest media parlor game is wondering what Donald Trump could possibly be hiding in his taxes. Could it be low charitable donations? Could it be financial support for causes conservatives hate? Could it be an evasion of taxes?

It’s highly unlikely that Trump would try too hard to hide any of those things. Thus far, if there’s one thing we know about Donald Trump, it is that on a lot of charges, he’s really good at accepting the hit to defang it. In the first debate, he laughed off charges that he called women “pigs,” and has readily admitted to infidelity.

Perhaps anticipating stories about him not paying his fair share of taxes, he’s already told George Stephanopoulos, “I try very hard to pay as little tax as possible and have said that for the last two years. I fight very hard because this country wastes our money. They take our tax money and throw it down the drain.... So I fight very hard to pay as little tax as possible.”

But there’s one area that Donald Trump will fight you tooth and nail - his worth.

It is a subject that he won’t let go of. He leaves no opportunity behind to tell people how “really rich“ he is.

There’s a reason for that, besides his ego.

The image of Trump as the independent guy who isn’t beholden to the establishment system is built on a foundation of him being so rich that he doesn’t owe them anything, and can’t be pulled by their strings.

If, somehow, it was proven that he’s really not rich, the foundation cracks. If it was proven that he’s actually deeply in hock to the moneyed elites, the Trump Tower comes crashing down.

*"Nothing that was done, or could have been done, at the convention excuses this."And nothing excuses this high profile Clinton supporter doing this:"http://www.rawstory.com/2016/05/wire-star-wendell-pierce-arrested-for-attacking-bernie-sanders-supporters-in-atlanta-hotel/Where's the outrage?Why won't Hillary denounce this?

Posting it over and over and over again and making it seem the equivalent of what happened at an official Democratic event with official Sanders delegates (vs. a random Clinton supporter) makes you a dumbass.

For months, I've read what a nice guy Sanders is, even from people who weren't going to vote for him. For months I've been wondering if it's true. I've seen him go negative, make excuses, whine about nonexistent cheating. I've read about his past exchanges with progressive protestors. This mealy mouthed statement about NV has sealed the deal for me. Bernie Sanders isn't such a nice guy.

Not to sound crude, but the GOP has Donald, and now the Democrats have their own version. Publishing a public figure's private information and threatening them and their families isn't a Democratic principle, sounds more like Socialism to me. And I defended him for running a clean campaign early on, wonder if he'd have waited a day or more if someone published his private information, Jane his wife's and his stepdaughter's? He'd be running to the same people he's condemning to do something about it. Did he report the vandalism of the office and the place his footsoldiers stayed? This is news to me, I think I'd remember these incidents.

We need to find out who those 64 delegates were. A few were actually qualified. The others were either not registered as Democrats or they couldn't prove they were from Nevada -- in fact 44 of them never showed up.

It's over, Hillary will win the nomination. But I don't like this fight going on within the party. That will make us lose. So what if Bernie goes all the way to the convention. He has a responsibility to the millions who support him, to not quit. To try and blame a possible Hillary loss to Trump, is ridiculous. If she can't stand up to Bernie, she will certainly lose to Trump.

If Hillary is/was a strong candidate, she should have been able to mop the floor with Bernie. The fact that he is still running strong and has a huge turn out at rallies show that Clinton does not have the support of a large portion of Democrats and left leaning Independents.

Bernie is a White, male, career politician (yes, a "socialist," but running as a Democrat). Yet, we are supposed to be impressed that he got a lot of votes? Meanwhile a a woman (Clinton) and a Black man (Obama) got a ton more than Sanders in their respective elections? That's a helluva lot more amazing.

Anyone who doesn't think Sanders is getting crushed doesn't understand how proportional delegate division works. This is not the GOP. We do not have winner-take-all states. What is happening now is the Democratic version of a shellacking.

If you can do basic math, check what percentages Sanders would have needed in each state to keep up with Clinton...and see how much he's missed by in state after state after state. At this point he needs to win by 50 points in states in which he's running double digits behind. Not happening.

She has given him a thorough electoral beatdown and he really needs to stop sugarcoating that for his rube supporters. I can't stand the way he cynically takes advantage of his followers' political ignorance.

I don't know a lot about the rules, but it seems to me the best time to make changes to the structure of the 2 party system and the structure of how Democrats and Republicans select their delegates and candidates is BEFORE the time when a presidential candidate is being selected.

Where was all the concern last year or the year before? Especially if, as some have said, most of those outraged were older people who have had the right to vote and get involved for years.

Where will they be, and this time I include the college aged people, in the next few years when it will be easier to make changes in prep for the next presidential election?

People are angry with a lot of stuff right now and it's easy to get them riled up. Especially if you claim you are going to start a revolution. Or will change things.

Remember how angry Democrats, especially new and young voters, got shortly after Pres. Obama was elected to first term?

Why didn't he do what he said? He lied? It's been six months and he hasn't totally changed the world? (I threw that one in.)

No, and he can't and 8 years later he still can't get all his plans come to being.

No president can. That's not the way the system works.

And if you are upset because you don't know how the system works, too bad. The system is not going to magically change just because you didn't understand how it works.

Was I this clueless when I was young? Maybe, but I didn't expect people to change to accommodate me. And I took the time to learn how it works so I could work within the system.

What I find most interesting in watching MSNBC - specifically Chris Matthews, who is presently covering the Kentucky election, is that he is having one hell of a time speaking positively about Mrs. Clinton!

He and his varied guests are still talking shit about her even though she is presently ahead!

Bernie won 82% of the caucus vote in Alaska yet only one of our 4 super delegates to the national convention is for him and the regular delegation is heavily for Clinton regardless of Sanders winning our state.

This sort of thing reminds me why I am an independent and don't vote in the dem caucus (because I can't and even if I changed my registration to dem, seemingly it wouldn't matter since the delegation seems to do whatever it wants regardless of caucus results)

There is a cabal of democrats that are for hillary here in AK regardless of what the majority desires. Someone in the process the other day reminded me that the state convention is not a majority rules representative democratic process, as is the caucus, but "an election within a caucus of a who's who" and they can do as they damn well please.

Turned me off totally to the process within our state and made me realize that remaining an outsider is the only way to get your point across.

I hope Bernie runs third party, and if not, I and a lot of people I know will be writing him in because he was railroaded in AK.

I'm a many years resident of Alaska, a Democrat, senior citizen, white, well educated, single and recall when Alaska was a Democratic majority state.

We are going back toward that and it's wonderful to see! Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska, elected a Democratic Mayor Ethan Berkowitz this last election cycle - like I said - the change back to blue is occurring!

I'm also going to vote for Hillary Clinton for POTUS and think Bernie Sanders screwed himself royally! I actually liked him in the beginning! But, not anymore.

I for one love Berkowitz even if he is a bit more left than I am. One of the major reasons I support him is he is closing down that mess of a bus station downtown to cut down on the homeless bums that call it their home and threaten normal people who try to do business there or must park in the adjacent garage for work. It's about time someone shut that down, renovate it and secure it against the worst elements of downtown Anchorage.

I also support his raiding of the disgusting homeless camps in town and shutting down these terrible places along our trail system; people who started the wildfire in midtown the other day and trash our most beautiful green areas.

Eradicating this scourge from Anchorage will require a lot of support from fellow progressives, but I think during his term we will see an end to the homeless drunk street people scourge that infects downtown Anchorage like an incurable rash.

I don't care where they go, just keep them from harassing visitors and locals.

The inside the convention violence in 1968 was about the party picking Humphrey even though he really didn't run in the primaries in 1968. After Kennedy was shot only McCarthy had delegates, but not enough. It was 1968 convention that Democrats changed the laws and created the "Super Delegates" then elected Humphrey as their nominee.So should the party pick the nominee, or should the people's vote pick the nominee? Should the party get rid of the super delegates? A simple voice vote in the rules committee at the convention could eliminate the super delegates.I think Bernie has a good point that if he won a State, the super delegates from that State should go to him. I favor getting rid of super delegates.

Bernie don't be sad. Look at what you accomplished. You managed to put together enough $27.00 to be able to charter a Boeing 767 jet (over $300K) and fly your family basically in an empty jet to Rome. Bernie that con job is something you would not have been able to do without those college kids, Bernie's Bros.

@6:07, did you donate to Sanders? I did and I have no problem with his Rome trip. It is out of respect for my party that I do not respond with mudslinging about Hillary, Bill, the foundation, her record, his trips with underage girls, etc, etc, etc ad nauseum.

With Bernie Sanders at the age of 74, hate to say it but he has outlasted his life expectancy. Bernie should suspend his campaign and then try to repair the damages he has done to Hillary Clinton and to the Democratic Party. Then Bernie should take whatever money he has left in his campaign and retire with his wife and her $200K in Russia or Cuba.

CNN "Sanders also parried accusations of violence by his supporters by saying that they have actually been targeted because of the rough neighborhoods they have worked in."

Rough neighborhoods? Bernie that's your fault. Keep your people out of the those neighborhoods. It ain't safe in Compton, California after 12 noon. Better yet Bernie, how about sending in your Bernie Bros to Compton and Crenshaw to see if they really believe in your vision.

CNN "Sanders also parried accusations of violence by his supporters by saying that they have actually been targeted because of the rough neighborhoods they have worked in."

Rough neighborhoods? Bernie that's your fault. Keep your people out of the those neighborhoods. It ain't safe in Compton, California after 12 noon. Better yet Bernie, how about sending in your Bernie Bros to Compton and Crenshaw to see if they really believe in your vision.

Sen Sanders has been in Washington DC for about 25 years. He has only one sitting Senator endorsement does he have any friends? No wonder he wants to go all the way to the DNC, he has no friends and doesn't want to go back.

Sanders: "threatening national party leaders with potential damage in the general election."

Does this sound like Bernie is a Democrat or a Socialist Independent in Democrat clothing?

$$$$$$$

DNC chair rips Sanders response to Nevada chaos

Washington (CNN)Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said Tuesday that Bernie Sanders' response to the chaos his supporters caused in Nevada was "anything but acceptable," likening it to the violence occasionally seen at Donald Trump events.

Wasserman Schultz told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that she thought Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's request that Sanders issue a statement about the chaos "was enough. Unfortunately, the senator's response was anything but acceptable. It certainly did not condemn his supporters for acting violently or engaging in intimidation tactics and instead added more fuel to the fire."

Sanders issued a defiant statement Tuesday, knocking Democratic Party leaders in Nevada and threatening national party leaders with potential damage in the general election.

Read more at http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/17/politics/bernie-sanders-nevada-democrats/

Why did that dipshit recently join the Democratic Party, run for president and is now crying about the rules of the Democratic Party? 25 years as a politician and he doesn't know the election rules of the Democratic Party or the Republican Party? Go back to Vermont.

About Me

This blog is dedicated to finding the truth, exposing the lies, and holding our politicians and leaders accountable when they fall far short of the promises that they have made to both my fellow Alaskans and the American people.